The first person in Kern County to be charged under Proposition 36 has taken a plea deal. Court records indicate Dustin Towery, 25, pleaded no contest March 28 to a felony count of shoplifting with two prior convictions. A misdemeanor count of resisting arrest was dropped. Towery was charged on suspicion of stealing two electric…… Read More
A man who assaulted a Kern County prison guard will serve extra time in prison. Oshea Mann, 32, was sentenced March 28, 2025, to eight additional years after his conviction earlier in March for assaulting a correctional officer at Kern Valley State Prison in Delano in 2019. Mann attacked the guard during a visit to…… Read More
United Way of Central Eastern California has announced Eric Arias as the new President and CEO. Arias was elected to the Bakersfield City Council in 2020 and serves Ward 1 which includes communities in southeast Bakersfield and parts of Greenfield. The United Way of Central Eastern California is a non-profit organization that offers education, health,…… Read More
Kern County’s largest labor union has agreed to more contract talks with the County. A one-day strike following months of negotiations dating back to May 2024 have yielded no results, and members of the Service Employees International Union Local 521 announced Friday the two parties will return to the bargaining table with a mediator to…… Read More
A hit and run crash has left one person dead in south Bakersfield. California Highway Patrol officers responded Saturday night to the intersection of South Union Avenue and White Lane to find a pedestrian dead at the scene. Officers are looking for the driver. Southbound lanes of South Union Avenue were closed during the investigation.… Read More
The Employment Development Department has released the latest unemployment numbers, and it’s not good news for Kern County. The county’s unemployment rate was 9.3% in February, up from 9% in January and 8.2% in December. Kern’s unemployment rate was higher in February of 2024 at 9.7%. California’s unemployment rate in February was 5.5%. Nationwide, the…… Read More
Kern County Supervisor Jeff Flores has released a statement following the arrest of a man who allegedly threatened a member of the Board of Supervisors. On Thursday, the 3rd District supervisor expressed his gratitude to the Kern County Sheriff’s Office for the arrest Wednesday of Parrish Buzzard, 61, who allegedly sent several credible threats through…… Read More
A young Bakersfield couple killed during a Lyft ride home have been laid to rest. A funeral service was held Thursday at Canyon Hills Assembly of God church for Max and Desiree Mooney, both 30, who died when a suspected drunk driver reportedly blew a red light and struck their rideshare vehicle at the intersection…… Read More
A no contest plea has been entered by a suspect accused of assaulting a developmentally disabled man at a grocery store in southwest Bakersfield. Isaac Figueroa admitted to felony assault after pushing the man out of the store and attacking him in the parking lot of the Ming Avenue grocery store in March 2024. Figueroa…… Read More
The discovery of a dead body in Mojave is being investigated as a homicide. Timothy Welch, 56, was reported as missing before his remains were found near East Trotter Avenue last November. His identity was confirmed through DNA by the California Department of Justice. The time and cause of death are still unknown. The Kern…… Read More
